Law Students

Thriving during Law School
By: Kevin Pierce

It’s September, and law school is ramping up again. Whether you’re a first-year law student (1L) who’s still getting used to briefing cases and cold calls, a 2L trying to prepare for on-campus interviews and get summer clerkships lined up, or a 3L suddenly realizing that you’ve only got less than a year before the bar exam and then it’s off to a legal career; you’re understandably stressed.

As we enter another year filled with late nights, early mornings, and long hours in front of casebooks, hornbooks, briefs, memos, contracts, and laptops, I want to share with you something my criminal law professor told our class going into our first semester finals. 

You could spend your first year sacrificing your health and mental soundness to get on law review, then spend your second year doing the same to become editor of the law review, just so you can spend your third year burning the candle at both ends to get a prestigious “Big Law” job. Then you could spend the next five to 10 years spending every waking hour to become a partner, and another 10 to 20 years of ceaseless toil to become a name partner, only to discover you’re in your 40s, you have a substance abuse problem, and you miss birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and little league games.

Now, many people go on to fine careers and healthy lives having done law review and Big Law, but his point still struck home with me. When a fellow law student says he got nine hours of sleep and gets incredulous looks, as if he had said he saw a unicorn, something needs to change! I’d like to offer some lessons I’ve learned both in law school and in the professional world to help maintain a healthy body and healthy mind.

First, everything comes back to sleep. There are no ends to the studies that show how critical sleep is to mental and physical well-being. But all too often good sleep is the first thing to go out the window when the stress starts piling on. Staying up an extra hour that night to finish a brief, or getting up an hour earlier to review your outline without any plan to make up the lost time, is a dangerous bargain. Your body will miss that extra hour, and that deficit adds up. Getting good, regular sleep keeps the body rejuvenated and the mind sharp. Be more efficient with your waking hours, and you’ll find you won’t need to stay up late nearly as often.

Second, start practicing good eating habits in both food and drink. There’s nothing wrong with the occasional indulgence in something that’s less than healthy, but your body is a machine that needs proper fuel and nutrients. Cooking large, balanced meals in advance is a great way to enjoy delicious food that doesn’t come with a side of greasy fries and a sugary soda. Green smoothies are another way to get wholesome nutrients quickly and easily when you’re pressed for time. Staying well hydrated is also critical to keeping your body and mind alert. Invest the time and money in nutritious food, and you’ll find yourself with more energy and a better immune system to handle stress.

Finally, regular exercise is critical to dealing with stress and fatigue. Especially for 1Ls who feel they’re always behind on work, it’s easy to view 30 minutes of running or lifting weights as time wasted. But getting at least 30 minutes of exercise three times a week helps keep your stress levels down, your mood elevated, and your immune system strong and resilient. You don’t want to be the student who comes down with the flu the day of your first final!

Taking care of yourself is not only the best way to keep yourself in the best condition possible to be successful in law school, it’s a habit that will serve you all your life. Lawyers live stressful lives. That’s a fact. But with the right tools and mindset, you will find that not only can you handle what life throws at you, but you’ll thrive while doing it.

Kevin Pierce is a student at SMU Dedman School of Law and an ex officio board member of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers.